Jacobs lowers the boom on Dundee-Crown

Boom. Boom. Boom.

That's how Dundee-Crown boys basketball coach Lance Huber described the relentless offensive attack Jacobs brought from the onset of a 62-45 Golden Eagles win between District 300 archrivals Tuesday in Algonquin.

And Jacobs (16-3), who improved to 8-0 in Fox Valley Conference, really couldn't have asked for a better start with the pop they displayed from deep in the game's first 3 minutes.

Kameron Mack buried a 3 from the right wing on the game's first possession and Nik Balkcom drained 2-straight for a 9-1 Jacobs advantage with 5:46 left and a harsh reality set in for the Chargers (7-11, 4-4) rather quickly.

"One of our assistant coaches was talking to us before the game about how important the few first possessions were so we really valued those," said Jacobs guard Kameron Mack, who drained 3 threes en route to a game-high 24 points. "It was good that we really came out ready to go."

Jacobs, which sank 3 of their 5 threes in the first quarter, jumped out to a 20-5 lead with 2:00 left in the first quarter and never blinked thereafter. Their 7 of 13 start and Mack's 12 first-quarter points parlayed into a 50 percent clip from the field on 44 attempts, whereas D-C shot just 42.8 percent from the field and struggled with 16 turnovers.

"We knew they were going to try and come out all energized, hitting those threes kind of lowered their energy a little bit," said Balkcom, who finished with 8 points and 2 steals. "Especially at this point in the season and especially after some of the teams we've played we know what we have to do. Every time we always try to come out fast."

Ryan Phillips totaled 10 points for the Golden Eagles, as his 8 points in the second quarter paced Jacobs when they pushed the lead back to 15.

D-C cut it to 7 on two occasions in the third as Chargers leading scorer Jack Orndahl (17 points) was perfect in the third with 2 threes and 4 free throws. But each time D-C looked to make a move, Jacobs had an answer as Mack hit a three from deep to put the lead up to 10 with 5:20 left and another jumper minute later to make it 39-29.

"It seemed like whenever they needed a bucket they got one," said Huber, whose team has lost 11-straight to Jacobs dating back to 2013. "Jacobs executed really well and they're the defending champions for a reason."

Dundee-Crown's Jordan Hairston totaled 10 points but Jacobs countered with Joacheim Price's 7 points and 5 offensive rebounds and Ajani Rodriguez who totaled 6 steals in addition to his 5 points. It also didn't help that Jacobs got to the foul line and sank 10 of 14 in the second half to keep D-C down, but Jacobs coach Jimmy Roberts appreciated the way the Eagles came out from the start.

"We have scripts and our kids really did a good job of executing," Roberts said. "It's one thing to execute and then you have to make the shots. Our kids did a good job of doing that to start."